Gut health has been making headlines recently and rightly so. As a medical doctor I have to admit that I take special interest in digestive system and that's why I'll probably speicalize in abdominal surgery or gastroenterology one day.
Recent discovery of microbiome has been a game changer and it completely changed our views on digestive system, how it works, relation of gut health to mental health and pretty much every other bodily system, especially immune system.
That being said it comes to my attention that gut health is something that we should have principally in mind when thinking about nutrition. It even effects our tendency to get fat. It seems that the old thesis that "Medicine will be our food and food will be our medicine" is getting scientific justification alongside empirical one.
80 - 20 Rule
This rule is good "rule of thumb" when thinking about what food to eat. It worked great for me so far. The essence of is to fill, metaphorically speaking, 80% of your stomach during a meal with leafy green vegetables and other vegetables(raw, steam cooked, boiled) and use the remaining 20% for healthy and wholesome protein and fats such as pasture grown meats, wild fish, avocado, free-range eggs etc.
With this is system I hardly need to track calories.
Simply fill 80% of your plate with aforementioned vegetables and remaining 20% with protein and fats.
Another rule that is similar to this one is to stop eating when you feel 80% full. This will prevent you feeling bloated and stuffed after a meal.
Mixing things up
Another thing that helps with your gut health and digestion is mindful and deliberate combination of different food. Easly rules to follow are as it follows:
- combine leafy green vegetables with animal protein
- combine leafy green vegetables and other vegetables with plant protein (lentils)
- avoid combining plants rich in protein with animal products
What to eat?
- Green leafy vegetables and fresh vegetables
- Lentils, quinoa
- Wild caught fish
- Grass-fed animal meat
- Free-range eggs
- Fermented food (kimchi, sauerkraut)
- Nuts and seeds
- Avocado
- Coconut
- Berries
What NOT to eat!
- Processed food
- Food containing gluten
- Unfermented diary products
- Sugar
- Alcohol (except wine)
- Rice
- Potatoes
- Corn
There you have it. Some of you may raise the concern that you are not getting enough protein, but that's simply not true.
I've been doing sports actively for the last 12 years and I have higher than average protein requirements. I have pretty much tried every diet there is and this has been one of my favorite. I was able to build muscle or lose fat without a problem.
Sources:
Images: Google. All images belong to their respective owners
Data: Medical school education and personal experience
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